Tyne Cot

Last updated

Tyne Cot
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery.jpg
Used for those deceased 1917–1918
EstablishedOctober 1917
Location 50°53′13″N02°59′53″E / 50.88694°N 2.99806°E / 50.88694; 2.99806
near 
Passendale, West Flanders, Belgium
Designed bySir Herbert Baker
Total burials11,965, of which 8,369 are unnamed
Unknowns
101
Burials by nation
Allied Powers:

Central Powers:

  • Germany: 4
Burials by war
World War I: 11,954
1914 – Here are recorded the names of officers and men of the armies of the British Empire who fell in Ypres Salient, but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death – 1918 [1]
Official nameFunerary and memory sites of the First World War (Western Front)
TypeCultural
Criteriai, ii, vi
Designated 2023 (45th session)
Reference no. 1567-FL08
Statistics source: CWGC

Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. It is the largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world, for any war. The cemetery and its surrounding memorial are located outside Passendale, near Zonnebeke in Belgium.

Contents

Name

Pill box of Flandern I Stellung in the grounds of Tyne Cot Tyne Cot Cemetery MCM005.jpg
Pill box of Flandern I Stellung in the grounds of Tyne Cot

The name "Tyne Cot" is said to come from the Northumberland Fusiliers, seeing a resemblance between the many German concrete pill boxes on this site and typical Tyneside workers' cottages (Tyne cots). [2] Tyne Cot CWGC Cemetery lies on a broad rise in the landscape which overlooks the surrounding countryside. As such, the location was strategically important to both sides fighting in the area. The concrete shelters which still stand in various parts of the cemetery were part of a fortified position of the German Flandern I Stellung, [3] which played an important tactical role during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917.

Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery

The inscription on the cross built upon the largest of the three pillboxes reads: THIS WAS THE TYNE COT BLOCKHOUSE CAPTURED BY THE 3RD AUSTRALIAN DIVISION 4 October 1917 It originally read "2nd Division" until corrected in the 1990s. 030A- Tyne Cot - Indscription on the Tyne Cot, Passendale, Belgium.JPG
The inscription on the cross built upon the largest of the three pillboxes reads: THIS WAS THE TYNE COT BLOCKHOUSE CAPTURED BY THE 3RD AUSTRALIAN DIVISION
4 October 1917
It originally read "2nd Division" until corrected in the 1990s.

On 4 October 1917, the area where Tyne Cot CWGC Cemetery is now located was captured by the 3rd Australian Division and the New Zealand Division and two days later a cemetery for British and Canadian war dead was begun. The cemetery was recaptured by German forces on 13 April 1918 and was finally liberated by Belgian forces on 28 September. [4]

After the Armistice in November 1918, the cemetery was greatly enlarged from its original 343 graves [4] by concentrating graves from the battlefields, smaller cemeteries nearby and from Langemark. [1]

The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defence and liberation of Belgium during the war. [5] The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

The Cross of Sacrifice that marks many CWGC cemeteries was built on top of a German pill box in the centre of the cemetery, purportedly at the suggestion of King George V, who visited the cemetery in 1922 as it neared completion. [1] The King's visit, described in the poem The King's Pilgrimage, included a speech in which he said:

We can truly say that the whole circuit of the Earth is girdled with the graves of our dead. In the course of my pilgrimage, I have many times asked myself whether there can be more potent advocates of peace upon Earth through the years to come, than this massed multitude of silent witnesses to the desolation of war.

— King George V, 11 May 1922 [6]

Notable graves

The cemetery has several notable graves and memorials, including the grave of Private James Peter Robertson (1883–1917), a Canadian awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery in rushing a machine gun emplacement and rescuing two men from under heavy fire. He was killed saving the second of these men on 6 November 1917. [1]

Two Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross buried in the cemetery are Captain Clarence Smith Jeffries (1894–1917), and Sergeant Lewis McGee (1888–1917). Jeffries led an assault party and rushed one of the strong points at the First Battle of Passchendaele on 12 October 1917, capturing four machine guns and thirty five prisoners, before running his company forward again. He was planning another attack when he was killed by an enemy gunner. On the same day, McGee, who had earned his decoration eight days earlier at Broodseinde, was killed charging an enemy pillbox in the same battle.

Also at Tyne Cot, behind the Cross of Sacrifice which was constructed on top of an old German pillbox in the middle of the cemetery, there are 4 German graves, buried alongside Commonwealth graves. These graves are of men that were treated here after the battle, when the pillbox underneath the main cross was used as a dressing station for wounded men.

Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing

The walls forming the memorial in the background, with one of the rotundas Tyne Cot (7).JPG
The walls forming the memorial in the background, with one of the rotundas

The stone wall surrounding the cemetery makes-up the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing, one of several Commonwealth War Graves Commission Memorials to the Missing along the Western Front. The UK missing lost in the Ypres Salient are commemorated at the Menin Gate memorial to the missing in Ypres and the Tyne Cot Memorial. Upon completion of the Menin Gate, builders discovered it was not large enough to contain all the names as originally planned. [7] They selected an arbitrary cut-off date of 15 August 1917 and the names of the UK missing after this date were inscribed on the Tyne Cot memorial instead. [8] Additionally, the New Zealand contingent of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission declined to have its missing soldiers names listed on the main memorials, choosing instead to have names listed on its own memorials near the appropriate battles. Tyne Cot was chosen as one of these locations. [9] Unlike the other New Zealand memorials to its missing, the Tyne Cot New Zealand memorial to the missing is integrated within the larger Tyne Cot memorial, forming a central apse in the main memorial wall. The inscription reads: "Here are recorded the names of officers and men of New Zealand who fell in the Battle of Broodseinde and the First Battle of Passchendaele October 1917 and whose graves are known only unto God". [10]

The memorial contains the names of 33,783 soldiers of the UK forces, plus a further 1,176 New Zealanders. [11] Three British Army Victoria Cross recipients are commemorated here: [12]

Other notable persons commemorated include:

It was designed by Sir Herbert Baker, with sculptures by Joseph Armitage and Ferdinand Victor Blundstone, who also sculpted part of the Newfoundland National War Memorial. [14]

The memorial was unveiled on 20 June 1927 by Sir Gilbert Dyett. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ypres</span> City in West Flanders, Belgium

Ypres is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name Ieper is the official one, the city's French name Ypres is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote. Together, they are home to about 34,900 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zonnebeke</span> Municipality in Flemish Community, Belgium

Zonnebeke is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Beselare, Gheluvelt, Passendale, Zandvoorde and Zonnebeke proper. On January 1, 2006, Zonnebeke had a total population of 11,758. The total area is 67.57 km2 which gives a population density of 174 inhabitants per km2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menin Gate</span> World War I memorial in Ypres, Belgium

The Menin Gate, officially the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown. The memorial is located at the eastern exit of the town and marks the starting point for one of the main roads that led Allied soldiers to the front line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War grave</span> Burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military operations

A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ploegsteert Wood</span> World War I sector in Flanders

Polygon Wood is a forest located between Ypres and Zonnebeke, West Flanders, Belgium. It was the scene for several battles during the First World War and there are at least two cemeteries of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in the immediate vicinity of the wood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramparts (Lille Gate) Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Ypres, Belgium

Ramparts Cemetery (Lille Gate) is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing</span> War memorial in Belgium

The Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) memorial in Belgium for missing soldiers of World War I. It commemorates men from the Allied Powers who fought on the northern Western Front outside the Ypres Salient and whose graves are unknown. The memorial is located in the village of Ploegsteert and stands in the middle of Berks Cemetery Extension.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passendale</span> Deelgemeente in West Flanders, Belgium

Passendale or Passchendaele is a rural Belgian village in the Zonnebeke municipality of West Flanders province. It is close to the town of Ypres, situated on the hill ridge separating the historical wetlands of the Yser and Leie valleys. It is also commonly known as a battlefield and the name of a campaign during World War I, the Battle of Passchendaele.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suffolk Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Ypres, Belgium

Suffolk Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in Kemmel in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perth (China Wall) Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery</span> World War I cemetery in West Flanders, Belgium

PerthCemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zillebeke Churchyard Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Ypres, Belgium

Zillebeke Churchyard Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery forms part of the village churchyard located around the Catholic parish church of Zillebeke in Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lone Tree Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Ypres, Belgium

Lone Tree Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front in Belgium. It is located at Spanbroekmolen, on one of the highest points of the Messines Ridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanbroekmolen British Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Ypres, Belgium

Spanbroekmolen British Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front in Belgium. It is located at Spanbroekmolen, on one of the highest points of the Messines Ridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buttes New British Cemetery (New Zealand) Memorial</span> War memorial in Zonnebeke, Belgium

The Buttes New British Cemetery Memorial is a World War I memorial, located in Buttes New British Cemetery, near the town of Zonnebeke, Belgium. It commemorates 378 officers and men of the New Zealand Division who were killed in the vicinity and have no known grave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery</span>

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. After Tyne Cot, it is the second largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in Belgium. Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery is located near Poperinge in the province of West Flanders. Most of those buried in the cemetery are war casualties who had been wounded near Ypres and later died in the four large Allied casualty clearing stations located in this area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polygon Wood Cemetery</span>

Polygon Wood Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War. It is located in Belgium, in what was the Ypres Salient on the Western Front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooge in World War I</span>

In World War I, the area around Hooge on Bellewaerde Ridge, about 2.5 mi (4 km) east of Ypres in Flanders in Belgium, was one of the easternmost sectors of the Ypres Salient and was the site of much fighting between German and Allied forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917</span> Belgian museum about the Battle of Passchendaele

The Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 in Zonnebeke is a Belgian museum devoted to the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Tyne Cot Cemetery, Zonnebeke, Ypres Salient Battlefields, Belgium". Greatwar.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  2. ↑ Holt, T and V Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide to the Ypres Salient Barnsley: 2003 Leo Cooper Pen and Sword ISBN   0850525519; p. 78
  3. ↑ "Tyne Cot Cemetery and Visitors' centre – Toerisme Zonnebeke". www.toerismezonnebeke.be. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Tyne Cot Cemetery". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  5. ↑ "Tyne Cot British Military Cemetery". The First World War Poetry Digital Archive, Oxford University. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  6. ↑ John McGivering, Ed. (20 October 2008). "Notes to "The Debt"". The Kipling Society. Retrieved 21 November 2011. This is the speech written by Rudyard Kipling for the King, and delivered on 13 May 1922 at Terlincthun Cemetery, Boulogne, as reported in The Times of 15 May 1922. The speech was composed by Kipling, who met the King on 11 May near Vlamertinghe, but it is not clear whether the same speech was delivered at cemeteries visited by the King before the closing visit of the pilgrimage at Terlincthun Cemetery. The Tyne Cot information centre attributes the quote to a visit to Tyne Cot on 11 May.
  7. ↑ (Holt, p29)
  8. ↑ (Holt, p125)
  9. ↑ (Holt, p28)
  10. ↑ "The Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing". Greatwar.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  11. ↑ "Ypres: Tyne Cot Cemetery". Trabel.com. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  12. ↑ "Tyne Cot Memorial". www.victoriacross.org.uk.
  13. ↑ "cwgc.org.uk". www.cwgc.org.uk.
  14. 1 2 Tyne Cot Memorial, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, accessed 7 February 2010

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.